DEERFIELD, Ill., Nov. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar
Inc. today announced a three-year project through a collaboration
with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems to demonstrate a power
system incorporating large-format hydrogen fuel cells to produce
reliable and sustainable backup power for Microsoft data centers.
The project is supported and partially funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) under the H2@Scale initiative and backed
by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).
"At Caterpillar, we focus on supporting our customers with
reliable, resilient and economical power solutions while achieving
their climate-related goals," said Jason
Kaiser, vice president for Caterpillar's Electric Power
Division. "This hydrogen fuel cell demonstration project enables us
to collaborate with industry leaders to take a large step toward
commercially viable power solutions that also support our customers
in making their operations more sustainable."
Caterpillar is providing the overall system integration, power
electronics and controls that form the central structure of the
power solution which will be fueled by low-carbon-intensity
hydrogen. Microsoft is hosting the demonstration project at a
company data center in Quincy,
Washington, while Ballard is supplying an advanced hydrogen
fuel cell module. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
is performing analyses on safety, techno-economics and greenhouse
gas (GHG) impacts.
"We continue to invest in research and advanced development in
hydrogen fuel cells as one of the various pathways toward our
commitment to be carbon negative by 2030," said Christian Belady,
Distinguished Engineer and VP, Advanced Development, Cloud
Operations + Innovation at Microsoft. "This latest project with
Caterpillar will provide valuable insights into how to leverage
hydrogen fuel cells for backup power in our datacenters at
scale."
Caterpillar experts in advanced power technologies, controls and
system integration are working alongside Microsoft experts in data
center design and Ballard experts in fuel cell design to
demonstrate a 1.5 MW backup power delivery and control system that
would meet or exceed the expectations set by current diesel engine
systems.
"We are excited to be collaborating with a complementary team of
global industry leaders on this important demonstration project,"
said Randy MacEwen, Ballard's
President & CEO. "The results of this project will provide key
insights into the capability of fuel cell systems to scale and
serve multi-megawatt data centers. The project will also explore
the scalability of fuel cell systems powered by low
carbon-intensity hydrogen from cost and performance
perspectives."
Caterpillar has been working with the DOE on research,
development and demonstration projects for more than 20
years.
About Caterpillar
Since 1925, Caterpillar Inc. has
been helping our customers build a better world – making
sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every
continent. With 2020 sales and revenues of $41.7 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading
manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and
natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric
locomotives. Services offered throughout the product life cycle,
cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise set
Caterpillar apart, providing exceptional value to help our
customers succeed. The company principally operates through three
primary segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and
Energy & Transportation - and provides financing and related
services through its Financial Products segment. For more
information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect on social media,
visit caterpillar.com/social-media.
Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by
the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Technologies Office, H2@Scale Initiative, Award Number
DEEE0009252.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the
views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States
Government.
Caterpillar contact:
Clint W.
Sabin
Global Government & Corporate Affairs
Mobile: (773) 706-5754
Email: Clint.Sabin@cat.com
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SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.